Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A] fascinating and masterfully interdisciplinary study. . . . With the nuance and erudition made possible by Taves's keen historical eye, firm grasp of the cognitive social sciences, and all of the primary resources now available to scholars of religion,
Revelatory Events represents the best of the comparative method in twenty-first century scholarship. . . . This book is highly recommended!"
---Adam Powell, Journal of Mormon History"
Revelatory Events is a book that anyone studying new religious movements is going to have to deal with for the foreseeable future. . . . [Taves'] comparative work and sophisticated analysis gives us a model for how good scholarship should be done."
---David Feltmate, Nova Religio"Bringing insights from psychological research on creativity, Taves proposes understanding the set of “guiding procedures” as the outcome of a creative process, whereby the emerging groups creatively accept the supra-human presence responsible for providing the initial message and shape their own social identity according to it."
---Eduard Iricinschi, Journal of Religion in EuropeTable of ContentsIllustrations and Tables vii Preface xi Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvii Introduction 1 Part 1 Making Meaning 13 Case Study A Restored Church 17 1 Translation 23 2 Materialization 50 3 Beginnings 66 Case Study An Anonymous Fellowship 82 4 Stories 89 5 Fellowship 110 6 Seeking 129 Case Study A Course in Miracles 151 7 Emergence 157 8 Teaching(s) 180 9 Roles 195 Part 2 Creating Paths 223 10 Groups 225 11 Selves 240 12 Motives 270 Conclusion 290 Appendix Discussion of Methods 297 Appendix Charts 311 Bibliography 331 Author Index 347 Subject Index 351
